Athletic shoe counter



Patented June 3, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT orgies l ATHLETIC SHOE COUNTER Jolm T. Riddell, Chicago, Ill. Application August 9, 1939, SeralNo.1Z89,220

3 Claims. l("ill. .t6- 68) v This invention relates to improvements in the construction of athletic shoes, and particularly to improvements in the arrangement andA construction of counters for reinforcing the heel portion of the uppers of such shoes.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an athletic shoe counter arrangement that Will positively support the heel portion of an athletic shoe under all circumstances and conditions of use; to provide an improved counter arrangement that will maintain a supporting strength and prevent running over or outward turning of the heel portion of the shoe upper, though the shoe becomes wet and soggy with water during use; to provide an improved counter arrangement that will give a positive support for the wearers foot under all conditions and that will yet be of simple construction and application; to provide such a device that will be of low manufacturing cost; to provide an improved counter arrangement that will increase the usable life of athletic shoes; and to provide such a means v that will render athletic shoes safer in use when wet and obviate the danger of the heel portions of the shoes breaking or becoming bulged outwardly when in a wet condition.

A specic embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying Kdrawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a football shoe illustrating the arrangement and application of the improved counter.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same as taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one arrangement of the improved counter.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the metal reinforcing member built into the improved counter, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view in elevation showing a second arrangement for the improved counter.

As shown in the drawing, the invention is illustrated as applied to a football shoe of usual construction comprising an upper I, a sole 2, a heel 3, and an insole 4, and having a metal reinforcing sole plate 5, the improved counter being disposed in the heel portion of the upper in place of the counter ordinarily used.

In the form shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the improved counter arrangement comprises an inner counter 6 made of suitable stiff leather, liber or composition material, an outer counter member 1 made of similar material, b-ut arranged to be of less height than the inner counter member 6, and a reinforcing member 8 having the usual counter shape, .but being made of some suitable light Weight metal material such as aluminum, the metal reinforcing member 8 being of less height than the outer counter mem- J ber '1. These three counter members are nested together as illustrated lin Fig. 3 and are then embodied in the heel portion of the shoe upper in the usual manner, the improved counter assembly being disposed between the upper I and an external counter enclosing patch or layer 9. The bottom or inturned portion of the counter assembly is disposed between the insole 4 and the heel portion 3 in the usual manner, and is fastened by suitable means such as the nails l0. It will be seen from Fig. 2, that by providing an outer counter member 'l of less height than the inner counter member 6, the sides of the counter assembly tend to taper upwardly so as to minimize any ridges that would otherwise appear on the outer surface of the finished shoe and to provide a smooth unbroken surface for the same. It will also be seen that in the arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, the metal counter portion 8 being of less height than the outer counter portion 1, the sharp upper edge of the metal counter will be fully protected by the stii outer member so as not to cut or form a ridge in the outer counter-patch 9 on the outside of the shoe upper, the whole arrangement being such that when embodied into a shoe upper the increased thickness of the improved counter arrangement will not be obvious from the outward appearance of the finished shoe.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 5, the inner counter 6 and the outer counter Il! are shown as being of the same height with the metal counter 8 being of less height and inserted between the two counters 6 and Ill. The meeting upper edges of the inner and outer counter members 6 and lll are, in this form, tapered to a relatively thin edge so as to obviate ridging of the outer surface of the shoe upper.

As shown, both the` inner and outer counter members and the metal reinforcing counter member are all of the usual form and shape of the counters that have been heretofore used in shoe construction, each of these counter members being formed to have upwardly curving side walls and to provide an open-ended cuplike device having an inwardly turned bottom ange extending along the bottom margin of the side walls and vat right-angles thereto. The inner and outer counter members which may be of leather, liber, or composition material are ordinarilny preformed with dies from stamped sheets of the material and the metal reinforcing counter is, likewise preformed by means of dies from stamped sheets of metal.

It will now be seen that my invention resides in supplanting the ordinary counters used for reinforcing the` heel portion of lathletic shoes with a counter having a rigid metal reinforcement so positioned as to prevent the counter becoming distorted during use when the shoe has become so wet thatl the leather or fiber portions of the counter assembly have become softened; and in so arranging the several counter members that there is no bulky appearance at the heel of the finished shoe, and so that the upper edges of the counter `assembly will taper together into a relatively thin margin, thereby obviating the appearance of any ridge or sharp line on the outer surface of the shoe upper when the same is molded.

The main advantages of my improved counter arrangement reside in the fact than'l its use considerably prolongs the useful life of athletic shoes such as football shoes, which in the course of ordinary usage are subject to considerable exposure to water and mud, which soaks into Ythe shoe and softens the entire body of the shoe. Y

Other advantages reside in the fact that the improved counter arrangement completely obvi'ates the dangers arising from the heel portions of football shoes and the like becoming overrun or outwardly bulged so that a tight fit on the Wearers heel is no longer had. Thus, my invention obviates the danger of injury to the wearer due to slipping or sliding of his heel in the shoe, while running, jumping and dodging as football players do during the course of the game. Still other advantages reside in the fact that the improved counter 'arrangement can be applied to athletic shoe without materially increasing the manufacturing cost and the labor involved.

Although two embodiments of my improved counter arrangement for athletic shoes are hercin shown and described, it will .be understood that details of the constructions and arrangements shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims.

1. An athletic shoe counter comprising nested inner and outer members preformed from stiff material to conform to the shape of the heel portion of a shoe upper, the outer member having side portions of less height than the inner member, and a reinforcing member of a shape similar to said inner and outer members and formed from metal interposed between the said inner and outer members, said members being nested in use as a shoe heel-portion reinforcing unit.

2. An athletic shoe counter comprising nested inner and outer members preformed from stiff material to conform to the shape of the heel portion of a shoe upper, the outer member having side portions of less height than the inner member', and a reinforcing member of a shape similar to said inner andV outer'rnembers and formed from metal interposed between said inner and outer members, said reinforcing member having side portions of less height than the others of said members, said members being nested in use as a shoe-heel-portion reinforcing unit.

3. An athletic shoe counter comprising nested inner and outer members preformed from stl material to conform to the shape of the heel portion of a shoe upper, the outer member having side portions of less height than the inner member, and a substantially rigid unitary reinforcing meIn-ber of a shape similar to said inner and outer members and formed from metal interposed between said inner and outer members, said reinforcing member having side portions of less height than the others of said members, and fthe outer of said members having its sidewall upper margin tapered inwardly to a relatively thin edge, said members `being nested in use as a shoe heel-portion reinforcing unit.

JOHN T. RIDDELL. 

